Dark Shadows Resurrection
by Portia Adams
Summary: What would season two of DS '91 have been like? Collinwood is more dangerous than ever as Angelique returns, estranged family members come home, Victoria grapples with the truth, and old secrets are revealed. Each chapter represents one episode.
1. Episode 1:The Return of Victoria Winters

Dark Shadows is the property of Dan Curtis/MGM and probably several other groups. No copyright infringement intended.

_My name is Victoria Winters. Forces beyond anyone's comprehension have repaired a stitch in time. Once more surrounded by a sea of familiar faces, one young woman now knows the horrifying secret of a man she thought she might love. Another young woman remains under his spell. The greatest force of evil this house has ever known occupies the third young woman in the room, while far away a sudden silence provides another clue into the great darkness that awaits the inhabitants of Collinwood…_

COLLINWOOD

As Vicki's eyes locked onto Barnabas's she, for the first time, was absolutely certain that her supposition had been correct. The palpable terror in his eyes confirmed it. Vicki's heart seemed to stop in her chest as she struggled for a calming breath.

Dr. Hoffman saw Barnabas freeze as Vicki looked at him. The girl's terror was evident. It would be a matter of moments before she screamed out the truth. Her hands went for the most potent medication in her bag, something that would silence Vicki.

The syringe was almost in Vicki's arm when the bedroom door burst open. "VICKI!" the young boy cried as he flung himself onto the bed.

"David," Vicki cried, equally happy. She hugged the boy tightly.

"Sarah said you'd just gotten here!" David exclaimed happily.

"Sarah…"Vicki replied softly. "Oh, David, did Sarah ever tell you how much you are like her brother Daniel?" Her heart tightened as she thought of a sunnier little boy than the troubled David who'd played with the same toy soldiers, and of the quick-witted girl in the white bonnet. For one moment she let her eyes lift back up to meet Barnabas's. As the horror unfolded around her she'd not had time to grieve the loss of little Sarah, and she wanted to commiserate with one other person who felt that loss. The pain in his eyes was there. Vicki swallowed hard as she returned her gaze to the boy sitting next to her.

"I've missed you, David. I'm so glad to be back."

"What was it like? What was Sarah like then? What was her family like?" David's asked the questions every adult in the room was dying to ask.

Pushing the hair back from her face Vicki looked up at Elizabeth.

"Come now, David. There will be time later to ask Miss Winters all about her unusual experience. I'm sure Vicki wants to change into something more comfortable and get some rest. Carolyn, take David back to his room, please."

Carolyn could barely tear her eyes away from Barnabas as she escorted David from the room.

Vicki stood up, noting for the first time the medical equipment grouped around the bed.

"We all would like to hear the answers to those questions," Roger said from his position behind Maggie.

Vicki stood quietly, wondering how she could answer any questions. "Elizabeth, Elizabeth looks like Naomi Collins." Grappling for another easy anecdote none came. She wasn't ready to talk. "I need to…process everything that happened, and I'm so very tired."

"Of course you are. Everyone, please go downstairs. Vicki can talk to us later. The important thing now is that she rests. Roger, ask Mrs. Johnson to send up a tray to Vicki's room." Elizabeth began sweeping people through the door, starting with Julia Hoffman, Roger, and Maggie who were standing closest to Victoria.

"Victoria," Barnabas said softly. No, she thought, no. Her mind filled with images. Daphne. Millicent. Sarah. Peter. Dancing in the old house. Kissing in Josette's room. Lowering her gaze to the floor she shook her head no.

"Barnabas, she needs rest," Elizabeth said in a voice that would brook no argument. "Let me walk you out."

Grateful for Elizabeth's interference, Vicki walked alone to her room. Standing inside the door the rush of the familiar hit her. The room had the unloved look of abandonment. The book she was reading lay on the sofa. Her favorite hairclip was on top of her hairbrush. The only difference was that someone had stacked her mail on her desk.

And, on her bedside table, was a music box. Vicki crossed the room, picking it up, before collapsing to the floor with only the moon for light.

"Don't you think we should question her, Elizabeth?" Roger asked, irritated at his sister, as they entered the Great Hall.

"Roger, there are no words for what that girl has been through! She needs to get her bearings back, and then I'm sure she'll tell you whatever it is that you want to know." Elizabeth said calmly, her protective instincts rising.

"This is ridiculous. Maggie, get your coat, I'll drive you home, since obviously I won't be needed here tonight."

The ringing phone reverberated through the walls of Collinwood. Carolyn answered the extension by the stairs.

"Roger," she called suddenly. "It's for you. It's England."

Mrs. Johnson entered Vicki's room without knocking, a decision she applauded when she saw that the girl was sitting in a heap on the floor, in a dirty dress that she would never be able to take off of herself, holding the silver box she kept by her bed. Placing the tray on desk Mrs. Johnson turned eagerly to the task at hand.

"I know it was an unusual trip, Miss Winters, but I expect like any trip you are ready to get out of your traveling dress. Why don't you stand up and let me help you? After all those years of Mrs. Stoddard's fancy dress parties I'm quite good at getting those dresses on and off. Then you can have a bath. Your dinner will keep."

Fancy dress. Vicki remembered her excitement over the party, her excitement at looking like Josette, her excitement at wondering what would happen next with Barnabas. Barnabas, who had turned away from her that night…

"Thank you, Mrs. Johnson," Vicki said automatically. As she stood up, she flinched as she saw Mrs. Johnson's face, remembering Abigail branding her a witch. Abigail, she reminded herself, not Mrs. Johnson.

THE OLD HOUSE

"Where is Barnabas?" Julia asked as she barged past Willie.

"I don't know. I ain't seen him since Sarah told him Vicki was dying. She didn't die, did she Dr. Hoffman? She's alright, ain't she?"

"Yes, she's fine, Willie. But Barnabas left Collinwood before I did, he should be back here by now. It's urgent that I speak to him."

"Here I am, Doctor. I was taking in the night air, the only air I can have since your chicanery with my treatment."

"Now is not the time, Barnabas! What are we going to do about Vicki?"

"What are we going to do? I didn't realize Miss Winters was any of your concern."

"What do you mean, do about Vicki? Is something wrong with her, Barnabas? Did they hurt her back then? Is she sick like your sister? Oh, I don't want anything to happen to Miss Vicki," Willie said.

Barnabas looked over, having forgotten Willie was in the room. He had also forgotten Willie's devotion to Victoria. A devotion that might be traded upon soon.

"No, Willie, she seemingly survived 1790 with no more than bruises."

"She could know your secret, Barnabas! I saw the look on her face when saw you."

"Do you think I didn't see it, Doctor?" Barnabas answered with a quiet menace that made Willie instinctively move away. The look on Victoria's face was etched upon his soul. It was the same look Daniel, Sarah, and Josette had on their faces when they realized what he was. It was the one look he had hoped to never see on Victoria's face.

"You'll have to stop her," Julia said, refusing to back down. "Or I will."

Barnabas's hands were around Julia's neck before the sentence had completely left her mouth. "Make no mistake, Dr. Hoffman, you will not touch Victoria. You will not harm her in any way. If I even think you might, I will make you wish you had never been born. Are we clear, Doctor?"

COLLINWOOD

"That was Ferncliff," Roger announced as he walked in the Great Hall, careful to avoid Maggie's gaze. "It's Laura. A few days ago she sank into a catatonic state. If she doesn't come out of it soon…well, decisions will have to be made."

"Oh, Roger. Would you like me to come with you?" Elizabeth offered, hoping her brother would say no. Carolyn had been acting strangely, Victoria needed time to recuperate, and David needed supervision.

"No thank you, Elizabeth. I'm going to leave within the hour. I've already booked a seat on the first flight out of Boston in the morning. Maggie…"

"I'll drive Maggie home," Carolyn said. "Are you ready?" Maggie nodded, still silent. Roger noticed that she didn't even look his way as she followed Carolyn out the door.

Victoria stood in front of closet, wrapped in towels. Without a doubt, she thought, that had been the longest shower of her life. Every bath product she owned she had used. Never again would she take for granted the ability to be truly clean.

The last thing she wanted to wear was a dress. Quickly she found a pair of jeans she'd owned since boarding school, her favorite white sweater, and her riding boots. An odd outfit choice, she acknowledged, but it suited her mood.

As she picked up a sandwich from the tray Mrs. Johnson had left she wondered if, right now, Peter was dying a painful death. Did he wonder where she was. Did he know she was all right.

No, she thought. Later she would mourn Peter. Later she would do all she could to discover his fate. Later she would ponder his last words to her. Now she needed to focus on the present.

She picked up the music box again, this time lifting the lid to let the music play. "Oh, Josette," she said softly. They had meant to save each other. How odd, Vicki though, that we both planned our futures with the same man, two hundred years apart.

No, she hadn't saved Josette. Or Sarah. But there were others that needed protecting now, and she was the only one who knew of the dangers lurking at Collinwood. Stopping to ransack her jewelry box Vicki failed to notice the return address on most of the letters Mrs. Johnson had stacked on her desk.

OLD HOUSE

"You think Angelique moved from you to Maggie?"

"I'm telling you, Barnabas, when I looked at Maggie after she unplugged the machines-well, what looked back at me wasn't Maggie Evans."

"She was trying to stop Victoria from coming back," Barnabus mused.

"Well," an unexpected voice said from the other side of the room, "she failed."

"Miss Winters!" Willie almost knocked Vicki over in his excitement at seeing her. "How did you get in here?

"You forget, Willie, now I've lived in this house with two small children who were very clever about getting places."

"Oh, Miss Sarah." Willie's face fell. "That must have been awful sad when she died, her being so little and everything."

Vicki felt guilty, but she was paying attention to Dr. Hoffman instead of Willie, suddenly remembering the doctor's bizarre interest in the music box and the way the doctor had watched her at the costume party.

Dr. Hoffman was jealous. Jealous, because a two hundred and thirty year old vampire liked her better.

Vicki giggled, then clamped her hand over her mouth, realizing what Willie had said. "Willie, it was all a bit like falling through the looking glass. And, really, I still feel like I'm just waiting for the Mad Hatter to invite me to tea."

"Oh, sure, Miss Winters," Willie said, confused. Maybe something had happened to her back then.

Barnabas watched silently. She looked different in some way he could not quite describe, and it was not only the ridiculous clothing she wore. Tired, yes, and grief-stricken. But she was here. She came to him without being asked. Perhaps he had misread what he thought he saw in her eyes.

"May I have a drink?" Vicki asked, suddenly needing something to help her along.

"Of course," Barnabas said as Willie ran to the sideboard and Julia rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Willie, please walk Dr. Hoffman back to Collinwood," Barnabas instructed as he reached for the brandy.

"Barnabas," Julia said warningly as Victoria moved to the davenport.

Willie moved quickly to get Dr. Hoffman out of the house. Barnabas handed Victoria the brandy and carefully sat next to her.

Never had she finished a drink so quickly before. Sitting in front of the fire, the brandy succeeding in making her warm where the shower had failed, Barnabas sitting quietly beside her, she could almost convince herself that the whole thing had been a dream.

"Victoria…"

She moved quickly, wrapping her arms around him, laying her head against his chest.

The movement caught him by surprise, but after a moment he wrapped his arms around her. Perhaps Angelique had not caused Victoria to be poisoned against him. Perhaps there was hope, after all.

She relaxed against him, remembering the times they had done this before. He was always so careful when he touched her. It had been easy to think that it was part of his good manners, but the proof was under her ear.

As her ear pressed against his chest Victoria heard no heart beat. Carefully she reached into her front pocket and wrapped the item around her fingers before she pushed back from him and lept to her feet.

The cross was in front of his face. Barnabas shrank back in pain.

"Now," Victoria said, "we can talk."


	2. Episode 2: The Long Night

DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters.

_A/N: I want every chapter to feel like another episode in season two of DS 91. However, I also want it to be fun to read in more of a novel form. One of my problems with the 91 series was how fast it moved. I'm trying to slow down this story, especially in the beginning, and develop the relationships as relationships and not just as plot points._

My name is Victoria Winters. The night grows older at Collinwood as one woman attempts to confront an old evil. The greatest evil Collinwood has ever known threatens the lives of everyone in the great house. A distant silence has drawn one member of the family away from the house, and slowly another old secret begins marching toward the light…

THE OLD HOUSE

The warm light of the fire and the flickering candle light danced off of the small silver cross dangling from a chain wrapped around Victoria's hand. Barnabas turned his head from the blinding light of the cross. Anther familiar pain existed next to the burning caused by cross. When Victoria had moved into his arms he had allowed himself to hope. Now he knew she had simply been performing some sort of test.

"Please, Victoria," Barnabas pleaded quietly. "You don't need that."

A strange half-laugh came from her. "Really? Isn't this what would have saved Daphne? Millicent? All of those other girls whose name I don't know? How many have their been, Barnabas? Two hundred years, there must have been more than I can imagine-?"

"Victoria, you obviously don't know everything that occurred. If you'll put that away I'll try to explain."

"You think I don't understand? If I put it away I'll just be one more name on the list of your dead. Perhaps mourned a little more because I look like Josette."

"How can you think that? Victoria, I give you my word I would never let any harm befall you."

Her hand fluttered at the sound of his promise. Vicki hated that he still wielded some power over her, that she desperately wanted to believe him.

"Part of me wants to put a stake through your heart," Barnabas's face tightened noticeably. "The destruction, the grief you have caused." She took a deep breath. "But there is one…_being_ even more destructive than you."

"Angelique," Barnabas spat out. "Victoria, she is back. She is here."

Vicki nodded. "I'm going to put the cross under my sweater, but I swear, Barnabas…"

"I will never hurt you."

Deliberately Vicki chose wounding words. "I'm sure Sarah never thought you would lead to her demise, either. Let's start at the beginning."

The clock ticked on as Barnabas told Vicki the pieces of information she didn't know. She felt the hot tears stream down her face as she thought of Josette on the cliffs and Sarah, huddling in the rain with Daniel, terrified of the person she had loved best in the world.

"God, it was all such a mess. I didn't know Sarah was sick until she had died. That's how Daniel was saved, Peter told me how they were treating the fever. I wanted to save her. I wanted to stop it all."

"Perhaps things would have turned out very differently if only I had listened to you that day on the stairs." Barnabas said while twisting his ring.

Vicki's head shot up. "You remember…how?"

Barnabas nodded. "Yes, I can remember those days with both you and Mistress Wicke. I'm not sure why. What I don't understand is why you were hung. Trask recanted his case against you."

"We don't know. Peter said the judge accepted Trask's confession, but then the next morning it the judge claimed that Peter had never visited him."

"Angelique," Barnabas spit out venomously. "Victoria, we held another séance while you were gone, after I read in Sarah's diary that you were arrested. Angelique came and possessed Dr. Hoffman." Barnabas paused, reluctant to tell her of Joe's demise at Julia's hand. "Angelique revealed herself to me, and Maggie Evans performed an exorcism. Somehow Angelique transported into Miss Evans. She attempted to kill Phyllis Wicke before you came back."

"She's in Maggie?" Victoria blanched, and sat heavily on the sofa. Maggie, who was having an affair with Roger, giving her easy access to any Collins she decided to rain her brand of destruction down upon. "We have to stop her."

"Other than killing Maggie Evans, I don't see that we have many options."

Victoria was silent. "So the exorcism worked, except that Angelique took possession of Maggie. But Maggie had probably never done anything like that before. Maybe a more seasoned practioner…"The vague outlines of a plan began to form in her mind.

"Since Trask died without descendents I don't know anyone else who could perform an exorcism. Victoria, you must be very careful. Angelique has already tried to kill you. We have to do everything we can to protect you."

"Barnabas, I think I do know someone who could handle the exorcism." Barnabas's eyebrows lifted. "He was my advisor at Phillips College, an anthropology professor who focused on the occult. He's written about participating in rites of exorcism from around the globe. Somehow we have to trap Maggie and get the professor here."

Knowing how dangerous Angelique was, Victoria knew this had to be planned with care. "Barnabas, may I stay here for a few days?" A look of shock crossed Barnabas's face. "We need to draw Angelique out. I think playing the happy couple will do it." Victoria went silent. "Also, if she does come after me, I don't want the other Collins to be hurt just because they happen to be near me. We also need Dr. Hoffman."

COLLINWOOD

As they walked into the great hall of Collinwood both were surprised to see Elizabeth still up. "Vicki, you should be in your room sleeping!" She admonished.

Vicki chose to smile in response. "Elizabeth, could I have a few days off?"

"I hardly expected that you would be ready to start classes with David immediately, but that doesn't explain what you are doing up at this time of night."

"I have invited Miss Winters to spend a few days at the Old House, Elizabeth, if it wouldn't upset your arrangements." Elizabeth's eyes revealed her understanding.

"Well, if you think you can rest better there, Vicki, of course."

"Thank you, I'll just be a few minutes to get some things," Vicki replied, her eyes modestly to the ground as her she touched the sleeve of Barnabas's coat, reminding herself that everyone had to be convinced she and Barnabas had began a love affair.

Once on the bedroom hall, Vicki walked past her room and knocked on another door. "It Vicki," she whispered urgently.

Julia was more than a little shocked to see Vicki knocking on her door . "What do you need?"

"Barnabas told me about Angelique, and you, and Maggie. I have a plan, but I need your help. Can you come to the old house? You'll have to be careful, Elizabeth is still up."

"You have a plan?" Julia repeated, disbelieving. "Fine. I'll go out the back way."

"Please bring your medical bag," Vicki asked before slipping down the hall into her own room.

Elizabeth sat down across from Barnabas. Anyone with any insight into the human condition would have noticed his intense interest in Vicki since the moment they met, and Vicki certainly had seemed to return the interest. She had kept up with how many dinners Vicki missed, how many times Barnabas or Willie Loomis had walked the girl home. She was even aware that Vicki had spent a night at the old house. Her natural retitence was battling with her concern for the girl. Vicki had just survived an unthinkable ordeal.

"I hope you won't think I am interfering, Barnabas, but please be careful with Vicki. Who can even estimate what sort of damage this experience could have caused her? I would hate if she had to deal with any more…emotional upheavals."

"Dear cousin, I give you my word my only wish is to protect Miss Winters." Yes, Elizabeth thought, cousin.

"How closely related do you think we are?" Elizabeth asked.

Barnabas looked at her strangely. "I believe we are fifth or sixth cousins," he answered smoothly, quickly calculating in his own head. The reality, he knew, was that Elizabeth was his great-great-great-great-niece.

Vicki came down the stairs carrying a large leather bag. "Here, let me take your bag," Barnabas said as he met at the bottom of the staircase.

Elizabeth impulsively put her arms around the girl. "Come see us soon."

THE OLD HOUSE

"You know, it just might work," Julia said carefully when Vicki finished explaining her plan. "Vicki, Barnabas and Willie know how to use a syringe. Do you?"

"Yes."

"Willie, do you understand what you must do?" Barnabas asked.

"Uh-huh. I have to let everyone know that Miss Vicki is living here with you and I have to keep the syringe with me all the time."

"I don't think Barnabas should ever be left alone during the day," Julia said slowly. "One of us should always be there, or god knows what Angelique might do. She seems to be attracted to his coffin."

Vicki's face paled noticeably at the word coffin. Never, she thought to herself, had she actually imagined Barnabas asleep, presumably helpless, in his coffin. She shivered. How many times, she wondered idly, had she been dressing for a date as he climbed from the coffin?

Barnabas didn't fail to notice the change in Vicki's blood pressure. Damn Julia. No doubt she used the word purposefully.

Willie had carried Vicki's bag into Josette's room. The natural response would be the hate Josette, Vicki thought, but instead she missed the girl who had become her friend. They were both caught up in this unbelievable web of horror.

Reaching into the bag Vicki pulled out the music box. "This is really yours, my friend," she said as she set it on the mantle. "The Countess told me it is why you went back to the house that night." Unbearable exhaustion beat down upon her. She hadn't slept the night before at all, and now it was almost morning of another day. "Tonight, Josette, I wear my own nightgown," Vicki said to the portrait as she opened the music box and began changing.

Barnabas heard the music from the library, where he was attempting to read. Without thinking he walked to her door. He could smell the scent of her. Quickly he descended the stairs and moved quickly towards Collinwood.

"Carolyn, Carolyn" he called. At Collinwood, Carolyn awoke in her bed and began her descent down the stairs. After he fed from her she lay limp against his chest. He pushed her face up with his hand. "Carolyn, I have a job for you. You are to let nothing happen to Victoria Winters."

"I will let nothing happen to Vicki," Carolyn repeated, kneading her face against his hand.

COLLINSPORT

Vicki stepped out of Willie's pickup truck.

"Miss Winters," someone called, surprising her. "I thought Elizabeth said you were taking a trip."

Sherriff Patterson was not who she expected to see, although the drawl was unmistakable. "I returned late last night."

"And that other girl? The sick one?"

"She recovered enough to return home," Vicki said, somewhat truthfully.

"So you are back at Collinwood? Why are you driving Loomis's truck instead of one of the Collins' cars?"

"Sherriff, I wasn't aware you kept such close watch on what we drive." Well, she might as well start the story with him. Honestly, she was a little put off. Back in time some people looked remarkably like people she knew here. Elizabeth bore a remarkable resemblance to Naomi. David looked like Daniel. Peter. Most simply reminded her of people from her time. Countess Dupree, of all people, reminded her of Julia Hoffman.

And Sherriff Patterson resembled Andre du Pre to a remarkable degree. "I'm actually staying at the Old House with Barnabas Collins for a few days. Willie was nice enough to loan me his truck so I could run some errands in town."

"You are staying with Barnabas Collins?" Patterson repeated. He'd watched them at the party; there was something there. Either this girl was going to prove his theory wrong about Collins (her neck was clear of marks) or was another tragedy in the making.

"We are seeing each other," Vicki said with her natural primness. "So I am spending the rest of my vacation with him."

"Be careful, Miss Winters. That is a strange old house."

Back in his patrol car Patterson wondered what it was about Victoria Winters that seemed so familiar.

He suspects Barnabas, she thought as she walked towards the payphone. I don't know what to do about that.

The phone rang several times. "Phillips College Anthropology Department."

"May I please speak with Professor Stokes?"


	3. Episode 3: The Lengths I Will Go, Part 1

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Dark Shadows.

_A/N: A chapter per episode will not always be enough for the story I want to tell! This episode will need at least two chapters. _

My name is Victoria Winters. A search to answer the mysteries of my own past has fallen to the wayside as the dangers that surround Collinwood multiply. Three young women connected to Collinswood struggle for their very existence…

COLLINWOOD

Breakfast at Collinwood was usually a bustling affair, but as the sun sent its first strong rays through the windows of the dining room Elizabeth Collins Stoddard was the only person standing in front of the buffet Mrs. Johnson had prepared. Elizabeth sighed. Carolyn was still asleep in her room, David was getting dressed, Roger was gone, and Vicki…well. The girl had been such a comfort since she arrived, and then Elizabeth had been so worried while she was gone.

"Good morning, Elizabeth," Dr. Hoffman said as she entered the room.

"Good morning, Julia," Elizabeth responded.

Mrs. Johnson bustled into the kitchen carrying a fresh pot of coffee. "Thank you, Mrs. Johnson. Julia, what are your plans for the day?"

"I'm going down to see Vicki."

"Is she ill?" Elizabeth asked with concern.

"No," Julia paused while Mrs. Johnson poured her coffee and Carolyn entered the dining room wearing, as far as Julia could tell, an extremely expensive scarf over a sweater that looked better suited to a late night club than an early morning family breakfast. "Good morning, Carolyn. I'm a little concerned what she might have been exposed to on her…trip that she doesn't have immunity for."

Carolyn remembered her instructions. "Well, Vicki and Barnabas are certainly the talk of Collinsport. Who would have thought our little schoolroom mouse would cause so much gossip?"

Elizabeth could tell by the way Sarah Johnson was arranging and rearranging silverware that she wanted to contribute to the conversation. "Have you heard anything, Mrs. Johnson?"

"Willie said that Miss Winters and Mr. Collins seem very happy, and that Miss Winters is looking more herself, but that they mainly are just keeping to themselves in the old house."

Elizabeth sipped her coffee, "It is rather fun to have a romance playing out so close at hand. I just worry about Vicki. Speaking of romance, Carolyn, how is Joe? I haven't seen him recently."

"Joe?" Carolyn asked from the depths of her Barnabas induced haze. She wondered if he really did love Vicki. It would be something akin to having vanilla be your favorite flavor of ice cream. "Oh, he's around, I guess."

"Roger called this morning. There's been no improvement with Laura."

"What is her condition, Elizabeth?" Julia asked while helping herself to a second helping of Mrs. Johnson's excellent French toast.

"She doesn't respond to any stimuli." The women heard clattering on the staircase that could only be caused by a young boy, a young boy who came slowly into the room and helped himself to French toast before sitting silently at the table.

"Good morning, David," Elizabeth said.

"Morning." The boy chewed silently. "May I go see Vicki today?"

Elizabeth met Julia's eyes over their coffee cups. Vicki was a grown up; she deserved her privacy with Barnabas. "I don't think that's a good idea, David." The look on the boy's face wounded her heart. "Instead, why don't we have a little dinner party tonight at Collinwood. I'll send a note around to the Old House, Carolyn, you invite Joe." Elizabeth thought it out in her head. She'd invite Maggie Evans, the girl had been so helpful during Vicki's ordeal, and Sherriff Patterson for another man at the table.

THE OLD HOUSE

Victoria stood on the edge of Widow's Hill, her long white dress blending in with the fog so that she couldn't tell where she ended and the fog began.

"Not the best day to be outside," a deep voice said behind her. "But it's always beautiful whenever I am with you."

"Peter," Vicki cried happily, wrapping her arms around his sturdy bulk.

"I told you that I would find you," he replied. He was taller, Vicki thought, than she remembered, and his bulk felt strange pressed against hers. As their mouths met she felt the kiss a little awkward. Their only other kiss had been so hurried…this was almost like their first kiss. Then, suddenly, it felt right. His mouth was familiar on hers, the press of his body right and proper. A strange emotion floated through her.

Happiness. She was happy. Leaning back to tell him, she found herself staring into the eyes of Barnabas Collins.

"No," Vicki screamed, pushing back from Barnabas's embrace. "Where's Peter?"

"Peter is dead, Victoria."

A small hand pulled on her arm. "There he is, Miss Winters," Sarah Collins told her, pointing towards a pile of bones on the ground next to her.

"No! Peter!" Victoria cried as she fell to her knees next to the bones.

Sarah began skipping around the pile of bones "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, Peter is ashes, Peter is dust," the girl sang. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, Peter is ashes, Peter is dust."

"No, no!" Vicki cried again, and then sat straight up in bed.

Staring at the picture of Josette du Pre, she remembered where she was. The Old House, in 1991. A ragged breath escaped her as she pulled her knees to her chest. Sarah Collins was right. Even if Peter had survived the shooting, he was nothing but dust now.

There was a knock at the door. Sunlight was flooding her room, so she knew it was not Barnabas. "Vicki?" a woman's voice asked.

"Julia, come in." Vicki stood and wrapped her dressing gown around her.

"Did anything happen after I left last night?" Julia asked as she set her medical bag down on the silk arm chair.

"No, it was very quiet. I'm beginning to crave the sound of David trying to sneak out of bed, Carolyn's music, or Roger's blustering."

Julia nodded as she pulled out her stethoscope out. "Tonight that may change. Elizabeth wants to throw a dinner party, and she's inviting Maggie."

Victoria looked up, surprised. "Do you think it will be safe? It's one thing if she goes after Barnabas or me, but I don't want David hurt if something happens. I don't want any of the Collins family hurt."

"We'll all come prepared." Julia watched as Vicki rearranged her dressing gown. Why did Vicki care so much? Wouldn't most people have escaped back to New York when everyone was terrified that a vampire was roaming the streets of Collinsport? Certainly, almost anyone would have fled after an ordeal like Vicki's little trip. Yet here she was, planning how to trap a witch and worried about members of the family that kept endangering her own safety.

Was she blindly in love with Barnabas, or did Vicki have other motives for staying?

COLLINSPORT DOCKS

Carolyn Stoddard drifted over to the Daphne. "Joe?" she called out before crossing over onto the boat. Receiving no answer she entered the cabin. It was in its usual disarray, but no sign of Joe. She tried to remember the last time she had seen him. Before Vicki came back, she decided, but she couldn't remember just when. Something stirred inside, a shadow of the old concern.

The dockmaster enjoyed the view of the strawberry blond with the long legs making her way to his station. As she came closer he recognized her. Carolyn Stoddard.

"Has Joe been around lately?" Carolyn asked with her lack of preamble.

"Joe Haskell? No, he hasn't been around lately." Carolyn didn't reply. "If I see him should I tell him you came by?"

With a toss of her hair Carolyn responded, "When you see him, tell him to come to dinner at Collinwood tonight at seven."

SHERRIFF'S OFFICE

"Excuse me, Sherriff Patterson," a familiar voice said from the door. "Do you have a moment?"

"Elizabeth?" George Patterson moved to his feet as he drawled her name. "What brings you here? Everything all right at Collinwood?"

"Oh, yes. Everything is getting back to normal. Actually, that's why I am here. I'm having a small dinner party at the house tonight, and wondered if you could possibly attend? I know it is unforgivably short notice."

"You know I never turn down one of your invitations." Both were silent for a moment, remembering other invitations issued and accepted over the long span of their friendship. "I saw your Miss Winters in town the other day, driving Loomis's truck. She said she was staying with your cousin."

"Why are you interested in the arrangements of our governess?" Elizabeth asked in an even voice.

"I suppose Woodward's allegations against Mr. Collins are still in my head. Awful strong allegations. I'd hate to see Miss Winters hurt. Your family has suffered enough, Elizabeth."

"That again? George, I've walked around the grounds in the daylight with Barnabas. I've seen him with Vicki. He's not the monster, and he would never hurt Vicki. Why, you should have seen him…" Elizabeth's voice drifted off as she censured the last statement she was ready to make. "While she was gone. It was the response of a man besotted. Well, I have a few errands to attend to. Seven o'clock."

"How is Carolyn?"

Elizabeth turned back around. "Carolyn? She's…Carolyn. She's fine."

"Good to hear."

THE OLD HOUSE

"Willie?" Victoria called as she began descending the back stairway.

Willie slumbered in the big arm chair he had brought into the room but he sat straight up when he heard Vicki's voice. Panic made him fall over footstool. He couldn't let her see the Coffin Room.

"Miss Vicki, I'm coming!"

Falling Willie's voice and her own rough estimate of where the coffin room must be Vicki came closer.

Willie met her at the door. "Miss Vicki, you can't come in here. Barnabas would be very angry."

There was the excuse she needed to flee back to the library or Josette's room and spend the afternoon reading quietly. No part of her wanted to sit in a room containing a coffin where the man she thought she was falling in love with slumbered to protect him from a witch that had pursued them both for over two centuries. One look at Willie's face, with his glazed eyes and bags under his eyes, made her continue to stand there and not run back up the stairs.

There was a fine line she must tread here. "Willie, do you think Barnabas would be angry if you didn't do something I asked you to do?"

Willie struggled to answer. Barnabas had told him to do anything Miss Winters wanted or needed him to do. So, yes, Barnabas would be angry if she told him he hadn't done what she asked. But he had a feeling Miss Winters was going to ask to go into the coffin room, and he knew that Barnabas wouldn't like that at all. He had a feeling that no matter what he did, Barnabas was going to be very angry.

"Well, I'm asking you to step aside so I can take my turn. Then I'm asking you to go upstairs and eat some of the sandwiches I left for you, and then you can have the evening off. Barnabas and I are going to dinner at Collinwood, so he won't need you. Sleep, go into town, go have some fun, Willie. You deserve it. And I will tell Barnabas that I left you no choice, and that if he gets angry at you I'll be angry at him."

That was a puzzle. Barnabas would do almost anything to keep Miss Vicki from being angry with him…

"They are really good sandwiches, Willie. Ham and cheese. And I bought soda while I was in town." He did love ham and cheese, and soda.

"Well, okay, Miss Vicki. But you'll tell Barnabas this was your idea? Because he would never hurt you. The one time he thought he might.." Willie stopped, horrified as Vicki entered the coffin room.

She couldn't force her eyes away from the coffin. Inside was Barnabas. The Barnabas who walked with her in the daylight along the beach. The Barnabas who tried to stop Reverend Trask from taking her. The Barnabas who pulled away the first time they kissed.

Pulled away, she realized now, because of blood lust. "When did Barnabas think he might hurt me?" Her voice, she thought, was surprisingly even.

Willie's eyes widened. He really hadn't meant to say that. "Well, um, Miss Winters."

Vicki turned and took Willie's hands into her own and used her best teacher voice, the one that offered comfort and inspired recalcitrant children to see the logic in her demands. "I need to know, Willie. I need to know how much I can let myself trust Barnabas. You said he wouldn't hurt me, so he must have done something to prevent that at least once. Now I know he sent me away once when he thought I might be in danger. Did it happen more than once?"

"When you spent the night. He thought he was going to bite you, so he made me go with him back to the mausoleum where I found him. He wanted me to chain him back in the coffin where I found him."

The coffin. "And he's terrified of that. Of being locked in the coffin again and not being able to get out."

Of course he was. Vicki thought back to what Barnabas had alluded to when he said his father had bolted him in the coffin back in 1790. And he had been willing to endure that again because he thought might bite her.

I want to be in Greenwich Village, she thought. I want to talk along Prince Street and stop in the book shop. I want to drink coffee. I want to wake up in my apartment and realize this was all just some strange dream.

Willie was looking at her with fear in his eyes. He needed a response from her; he needed reassurance that everything would be okay. "Thank you, Willie. Enjoy your night off. Get some sleep."

She sat down in the arm chair Willie had brought into the room, unable to keep from staring at the coffin.

The hours passed, and proved to Vicki that with enough time almost anything could become normal. The book in her lap had captured her attention until she had lost all track of time until she heard the noise of a hinge opening.

Barnabas sat up as he opened the lid of the coffin and felt a presence in the room. Willie, he thought as he turned toward the chair and found himself looking straight into the terror stricken eyes of Victoria Winters.


	4. Episode 3: The Lengths I Will Go, Part 2

"Victoria?" Barnabas asked in disbelief. "Has something happened with Maggie?"

While seated in his coffin, he was talking to her Victoria thought. Like they were trading bon mots over a glass of brandy in front of the fire. With surprising grace for such an awkward situation Barnabas climbed from the coffin and stood looking at her.

Barnabas struggled to stay standing next to his hated coffin. The first few minutes when he woke up, before he conquered the ever present hunger, were the most dangerous. Standing there across the room he could smell the warm jasmine scent of Victoria. The sound of her blood pulsing through her veins was audible to him. The most difficult part of standing here was the look on her face. Horror had been apparent on her face when she arrived back from 1790, but now her face showed revulsion at the sight of him.

Moving to her feet Victoria grasped for the appropriate words. "No, nothing has happened. Willie was about to drop from exhaustion so I made him go upstairs to sleep. Don't be angry at him, I had to force him." Barnabas nodded at her words.

"Sometimes I forget Willie has needs," Barnabas admitted.

"I also gave him the night off. Elizabeth is throwing a dinner party tonight, and she's invited Maggie." She looked down at her wristwatch. "Actually, I need to go upstairs and dress."

"Victoria, your book," Barnabas said, before moving to hand her the book she had abandoned on the chair. Casting about for some way to bring normalcy to the situation he looked closely at the book. "Fitzgerald, I'm not familiar with him."

She reached out for the book, careful to keep her hand from touching his, still attempting to maintain some sort of equilibrium in this outrageous situation. "Mainly he wrote about the 1920s. He and several other writers were part of what was called The Lost Generation. Have you read much twentieth century fiction?"

"I read someone called Cheever. I didn't much like it."

"No, you wouldn't. You probably would like Fitzgerald. Actually, I think you might like Tom Wolfe's _Look Homeward, Angel _best of all." A half smile crept across Barnabas's face. "I'm sorry, it sounds like I'm assigning you homework. It's a hazard of the profession, I suppose."

"It is nice. The only people who know about my literary deficiencies are Dr. Hoffman and Willie. Dr. Hoffman must only read scientific works, and Willie is only fond of those cheap, illustrated things."

"Comic books." There were so many things she wanted to say. She turned back towards the door but stopped moving and drew in a ragged breath. "The morning after I stayed here because of the rain, and then the night of the costume party you confused me terribly. I didn't understand why you changed towards me so rapidly." She turned back to face him. "I thought you had had a change of heart…"

"You have no idea how difficult it was for me to push you away." He could see her face on the balcony of the Great House, obviously hurt as she struggled to understand his change in demeanor.

"You did it to keep me safe?"

"Victoria, I give you my word I will go to any lengths necessary to ensure your safety."

COLLINWOOD

One of the great rules of David Collins's life was he was never allowed to throw a ball in the house. There were simply to many priceless antiques and cherished family heirlooms in every room in the house to allow for such foolishness.

So it was with great relish that he bounced the ball against the wall of his room. A feeling that David had experienced throughout his life had returned. He was being neglected. Vicki had been gone in one way or another for weeks, his father was gone, Carolyn was ignoring him, and his Aunt Elizabeth was distracted trying to take of everything to do with Collinwood. Even Sarah rarely came around now.

It was Vicki he missed most of all, but he couldn't bring himself to be angry with her. So he turned his anger towards someone he could be at angry at.

"Stupid Barnabas," he muttered as he continued to bounce the ball.

"You mustn't be mad at Barnabas," a small voice said behind him. "It is better that Miss Winters be at the old house."

"Sarah! Where have you been?" David asked. He hadn't seen his only friend since the night she came to tell him that Vicki was back.

"It's harder for me to come now. I thought that I could keep something bad from happening,. Now I fear I made it worse. You, Miss Winters, and Barnabas are in terrible danger. Everyone is."

"What kind of danger?"

"She's here," Sarah said. "I have to go." The sounds of footsteps coming down the hallway made David look towards the door. When he looked back Sarah was gone.

OLD HOUSE

Victoria struggled again to reach the buttons on the back of her dress. The salesgirl at Brewster's had helped her into it at the store, and she hadn't thought of how she'd manage on her own. For a moment she regretted insisting Willie take the night off. Having Willie button her up would be awkward, but still seemed like a better alternative. She could always just put her coat on, and then have Elizabeth or Carolyn help when she got to the house.

That would hardly do. Everyone assumed, they wanted everyone to assume, that she and Barnabas had embarked on a physical relationship. Showing up to have dress buttoned would seem more than a little strange. A knock at the door decided her.

"You look lovely," Barnabas said as she opened the door.

Blood rushed to her cheeks. "Thank you, but I need your help. I can't button my dress, would you mind?" She turned her back.

The monster began to make itself felt. Victoria's hair was piled loosely on her head, and the dress cut low on her back. With her back facing him he could see the pulse on the side of her neck. She wouldn't even see his face, he thought, if he bit her while her back was turned. He wouldn't really cause damage, he thought, if he had just a taste. Properly done he could ensure she could never leave him…

The image of Josette turning to look at him before leaping from Widow's Hill swam in front of his eyes. You will not win this time, he thought as he moved towards her.

"I realized I owed you thanks for something else as well," Vicki said, desperate to fill the awkward silence created by his nearness. The feel of his hand on her back. The remembered feeling of his mouth on hers.

All of the things she would not allow herself to think of.

"What would that be?" The desire to bite her was now commingling with the desire to run his hand across the bare skin of her back. He attempted to force his attention to the buttons.

"You were my best defender until Peter. You tried to stop Trask from taking me. You did all you could to save me. You were a true friend during the whole ordeal, until…" her voice drifted off. "I wonder how many other innocent girls Trask condemned."

"No more after you, Victoria. And you never have to thank me for defending you," as he buttoned the last button.

Victoria stiffened at his touch but didn't move away, the subtlety of his answer to much for her understand at the moment.

"Professor Stokes arrives tomorrow. We must catch Maggie tonight."

COLLINWOOD

David was expecting the knock at his door, telling him it was time to come for dinner. He opened the door, surprised to see who stood there.

"Vicki!" He didn't bother to try and hide how happy he was to see her.

"David, I've missed you so! Please tell me you've been doing something all this time I've been away."

The boy looked down at his shoes, and Vicki laughed. "Well, we'll make up all the work somehow."

"Does this mean you're coming back?"

"I think in a few days, yes, we'll be getting back to normal." She brushed the boy's hair from his face, grateful that so far the nightmare had not touched him to deeply.

Then she saw the troubled look on his face. "Sarah said it was better if you were at the old house."

"You still see Sarah?" She hadn't seen Sarah since her return, and Barnabas had said he hadn't seen her since the day she returned. David nodded his reply. "I brought you two presents," she said, reaching into the bag she had brought with her.

"Presents?"

"Don't get so excited." She pulled the first present out. "This is just to make me feel better; I've been rather nervous lately. Will you promise me to wear this all the time under your clothes?" David opened the box to see a small cross on a chain.

"Do you think Daphne is coming back?" the boy asked with dread.

"No, no, David. It's just…it's like buckling your seatbelt when we drive to town. There's never any proof that we might get into a wreck, but it's best to be prepared just in case something happens."

"What's the other present?"

Before going back downstairs Vicki started down the hall to find Dr. Hoffman. As she turned the corner she saw a flash of white dress.

"Sarah?"

The girl turned to her. "Miss Winters! It is nice to see you again."

"Oh, Sarah, I'm so sorry."

"You mustn't make apologies, Miss Winters. I don't have long. But you have to protect Barnabas, or else…"

"Sarah, what happened to Peter? Please tell me." Please tell me he recovered, and married some Collinsport girl, and lived a nice long life in the 19th century, she pleaded in her head.

"Vicki?" Dr. Hoffman's voice called, and Sarah disappeared.

When Julia and Vicki entered the drawing room, all of the other guests had already assembled. They both walked towards Barnabas, and Vicki slipped her arm inside his, determined to maintain the masquerade.

Elizabeth ushered her guests into the dining room. This was not a dinner party that Emily Post would have approved of, she knew. Joe had never answered the invitation, leaving her a man short (and that is only if you could consider David to be a man). Carolyn was stormy (perhaps she and Joe had fought), Maggie was silent (worried about Roger being near Laura, no doubt. Amazing how Roger thought she didn't know about his affair with the child), Barnabas was looking at Vicki the way a starving man regarded a feast, Vicki was preoccupied with talking to David (but she stayed at Barnabas's side at all times), Julia intensely watched everyone, and George kept starting at Vicki. She wondered what he saw there.

Maggie's eyes could not keep away from Barnabas and Vicki, Julia noted. The girl was quiet; Angelique was probably fighting for control. Maggie was a powerful force in her own right.

Victoria Winters dress proved that she had suffered no attack, Sherriff Patterson noticed over dinner. She and Collins, no matter how strange he did seem, appeared to be a normal couple in the first stages of a relationship. Still. He had unanswered questions, and Haskell's visit had added to them. Carolyn Stoddard appeared fine, and she too wore a low cut dress. But her neck was covered. There was no way, he knew, that he could ask to see her neck that wouldn't cause Elizabeth to become upset. Elizabeth had suffered enough; he wasn't going to add to it unless he was damn sure it was necessary.

"Mr. Collins," Sherriff Patterson said they entered the drawing room and Elizabeth sent David up to bed, "could you come by my office tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Barnabas repeated as he attempted to come up with a plausible reason why he would be unavailable to meet the sheriff.

"Yes."

Vicki heart was filled with dread. Perhaps this was the threat Sarah warned her against. "I'm afraid that won't be possible, Sherriff."

"Oh? What about any day this week?"

What would be an acceptable reason why he couldn't meet with the Sherriff? "No, that won't be possible either, Sherriff," Victoria answered as she desperately searched for a believable reason.

Julia realized what Vicki was trying to do. They needed a reason while Barnabas would be unreachable, at least for a while. "Barnabas, Victoria, you shouldn't be shy."

Barnabas appreciated their attempts, but he couldn't quite see any reason that would give them time in a way that wouldn't confirm the Sherriff's suspicions.

Vicki caught Julia's eye. Of course. It was so obvious. It was curious that Julia was the one who thought it, and that she was willing to go along with it. It might also serve to further draw out Angelique, although Maggie's eyes had hardly left them all night.

"Barnabas, we really should tell them tonight."

"Tell us what?" Elizabeth asked as she came back in the room.

Barnabas was curious as well, until he realized Vicki's plan. No, he thought, no. This was not the way he wanted it to happen. It should be part of the celebration when this damn curse was lifted, not part of a conspiracy to keep him safe.

Vicki entwined her hand into his, trying not to flinch at the chill on his flesh. "Barnabas," she said primly.

"I have asked Miss Winters to marry me."

"And I said yes."


	5. Episode 4: Bells Will Be Ringing, Part 1

_Authors Note: Sorry for the delay! Stupid real life kept interfering with my writing time! The story should really pick up soon as lots of characters from the past and present start to invade Collinsport and some VERY long term secrets come out. I'll try and update next week…_

My name is Victoria Winters. Although I came to Collinsport looking for answers to my own mysteries, I have been pulled into a web secrets that obscure all I see. In order to save the Collins family, I feel that I must make an unthinkable step that will change my own life drastically…

THE OLD HOUSE

Vicki sat in front of the mirror, methodically pulling bobby pins from her hair. Marriage. It had been on her list of things she wanted by thirty. A house of her own, the beginnings of her own family…as silly as it was, she had sometimes even indulged in dreaming of what her wedding would be like. Somewhere old and atmospheric with lots of candles and Prince Charming standing there.

Somehow, in her dreams, she'd always imagined Prince Charming as human. Flipping her hair over, she set to work on the tangles in her hair. It would definitely be an atmospheric wedding. A walking dead groom, a witch with a vendetta, and a bride marrying to provide an alibi. All the makings of a great love story, she thought with a half smile.

"How many lifetimes must I see you dead in?" a voice screamed from behind her. Flipping her hair back down Vicki saw the cold, crazy eyes of Maggie Evans staring back at her. Quickly standing, Vicki let loose with the most blood curdling scream she was capable of before Maggie's hands went around her throat. Fighting to stay conscious she kept her eyes on the mirror. She saw the slight reflection of silver, and forced her knees to give way, so that Maggie had to lean over her.

Looking up at the mirror she saw Maggie collapse on top of her the second before her weight sent them both to the floor. "Victoria, did she harm you?" Barnabas's voice asked from behind her.

"No, but she's rather heavy lying on top of me." The weight lifted, and Victoria turned to see Barnabas holding the unconscious Maggie. "I can't believe it worked."

"Not even Angelique can see me in a mirror," Barnabas remarked dryly. "Let's get her arranged."

A spare bedchamber, Victoria's old room, had been prepared by Dr. Hoffman. Medical grade restraints were attached to each of the bedposts. Barnabas carefully placed Maggie in the middle of the bed.

"You were successful?" Dr. Hoffman asked as she entered the room.

"Worked like a charm. Angelique never noticed Barnabas hiding in the drapes," Vicki answered as she adjusted a restraint around Maggie's ankle.

Dr. Hoffman busied herself with checking the girl's vitals. "She seems healthy enough, but the sooner we can remove Angelique from her the better off she will be."

"Julia, when Angelique was possessing you there were periods when you were conscious. Since Maggie's possession it would appear that only Angelique has been present. Is she growing more powerful?" Barnabas asked.

"Perhaps, but I believe it is because of Maggie's own talents."

"You mean because Maggie is a good witch?" Vicki asked, half in disbelief.

"Colloquially speaking, yes. Although Maggie and Angelique use their powers in dramatically different ways, I believe their neural pathways are very similar to each other, and quite different from other peoples'." Dr. Hoffman answered as she shone a light in Maggie's eyes. "It makes it easier for Angelique to truly possess Maggie."

"Professor Stokes should be here by noon tomorrow. Hopefully, Maggie will be restored a few hours later." Vicki took a deep breath. "Julia, can you forge blood tests for Barnabas?"

"Blood tests?" Barnabas asked, not understanding Vicki's intent.

"You have to provide blood tests to obtain a marriage license," Vicki explained.

Barnabas stared at her. She could not mean to actually go through with this. It would be torture on a level even Angelique rarely accomplished to be married to her and yet have none of the privileges that went along with that blessed state.

Julia nodded, letting the plan she'd forming since she'd left Collinwood become verbal. "If you and Barnabas could arrange a nice long honeymoon in some secluded location, it could give him the needed time for the treatments effectiveness to resume. I believe that Willie could give the injections if you could track the progress of the experiment, Victoria."

"Julia," Barnabas began.

This required a certain thoughtfulness, Vicki realized, a grounding in everyday details to help her overcome the more fantastic nature of this situation. "Actually, I might know the perfect place. When I was in boarding school, my best friend's family owned a place in a summer colony on a Canadian island, maybe ten hours or so from here. During the summer the colony was busy, but Cosima mentioned that it was deserted during the off-season. I'm sure her family would let us rent their place or know of another."

Obviously, Julia and Victoria both had taken full leave of their senses if they thought this could actually happen, Barnabas thought as he moved to Victoria's side. "Victoria, this is madness. You can not marry me. We can not hide on some Canadian island and let Willie resume Dr. Hoffman's injections."

"Really? You have a better plan? Because I don't know if you realize, Barnabas, but Sherriff Patterson suspects you! If he discovers the truth he will destroy you! And then who will defend the Collins family from Angelique? I have seen the havoc she can wreck. Havoc, by the way, brought on by her obsession with you. Someone needs to defend them. You are their best chance! And if to give them that chance it means that we must marry and convince the entire damn state of Maine that we are the love story of the century, then that is what we shall do!"

Julia busied herself checking Maggie's pulse, fighting to keep the smile from her face. So the kitten had claws, did she? Barnabas did rather look like his favorite pet had just attacked him. This could be most entertaining.

"Hey, everyone," Willie came bouncing up the stairs. "I had a great night, how was…So you caught her, huh?" he concluded as he entered the room, and then proceeded to stand as far away from the bed as possible. It looked like Dr. Hoffman had done a good job tying Maggie to the bed. He wasn't taking chances, though. He could still see that…thing coming out of the fireplace.

"Willie, do you know any forgers?" Victoria asked, going down the mental checklist in her head. "Good ones. Barnabas is paying, so money's not an object."

Willie blinked. "Forgers? Well, sure, Miss Winters. What do you need?"

"I need Barnabas to have a British passport. One with lots of stamps and visa entries from around the world. A British birth certificate would be nice, but we can make do without it."

"A passport. I know someone who can do that." Willie saw his chance to escape from the house with while the monster slept in it. "I'd need to go back into town to make calls, and maybe go into Bangor."

"Just do it quickly, Willie."

Julia walked with Barnabas down to the coffin room. "Victoria's plan will not work, Julia. You must see that," he said in measured tones.

"You are letting your feelings for her cloud your judgment once more, Barnabas," Julia spat back in answer. "Marrying Vicki is exactly the cover you need. It will throw off Sherriff Patterson and, since Elizabeth is so fond of the girl, it will bind you closer to the family. It gives you another chance to have the injections work."

"Who will protect the family?"

"Protect the family from what, Barnabas? You'll be gone. We hopefully will banish Angelique this afternoon. If that fails I will be here, and will contact you if I feel the family is in danger."

"Even at the risk of endangering your experiment once again?" Barnabas asked dryly.

"Even at that."

COLLINSWOOD

Guilt tugged at Vicki as she entered the Great House. Barnabas was asleep, Willie was gone to find a forger, and Julia was alone with the drugged Maggie. However, she had her to do list she'd made during the night, most entries representing a fight with Barnabas.

It was not as if, she thought testily as she walked towards her room, she was thrilled with the idea either. This plan would entomb her on a deserted vacation colony in Canada with only Willie and Barnabas for company for weeks as they attempted to cure Barnabas's vampirism and prayed that Angelique wouldn't destroy the Collinses in their absence.

"Victoria," Elizabeth called down the hallway.

"Elizabeth," Vicki answered. "I'm sorry about last night, I wanted to discuss with you the impact this will have on David in private, but…"

"I'm not worried about David at the moment. I'm worried about you. You've been through such an ordeal, Vicki, and to make such a life altering decision when you've only been back a few days."

"Marrying Barnabas is the best decision I can make for a number of reasons, Elizabeth. Please trust me." Part of the plan required everyone to believe in the marriage, which would require witnesses. "Please, bring the family at seven. It will only be a quick ceremony, and then we'll have a drink, and then be off on our honeymoon."

"Where will you go?"

"Canada, actually. Barnabas has business that needs attending, and a place I love is close by. We'll be gone a long time, Elizabeth. I thought David and I could communicate by fax and phone calls, but I understand…"

"We will make it work, Victoria. But wouldn't you rather wait, and have a larger wedding in this house?" It had been a long time since a Collins had married happily here, Elizabeth thought. Perhaps Vicki and Barnabas were a harbinger of a happier future.

"There's one more favor I need. Barnabas and I forgot to arrange a marriage license…"

COLLINSPORT

It didn't seem that long ago that she had stood at this train station, waiting for Willie to pick her up, not knowing the dark turns her life was about to take. All the things she had planned, she realized, she had never done. So many secrets to uncover, that now were buried under an ever increasing mountain of other secrets.

A familiar sight cured the homesickness she really hadn't even been aware she had. When she saw his familiar (much taller than anyone else around him) shape, and the blue gray eyes that had inspired a school girl crush that haunted her for years, she began waving.

"Victoria Winters, all grown up," Professor Stokes said as he took her hand.

"You just saw me last year," Vicki said with a laugh. Stokes knew of the schoolgirl devotion he inspired, and lapped it up. A rogue, no doubt about it.

"Your eyes. They were never particularly young, but now they are positively haunted. And more enchanting than ever."

"Thank you, Professor Stokes."

"So, you have a witch for me?"

_Casting note: The role of Professor Stokes will be played by 1991-era David Selby. Look up pictures from the last season of _Falcon Crest _or from _White Squall. _He was still dreamy! _

_In other news: Did anyone catch the joke of Vicki's best boarding school friend's name? The wedding will begin in the next installment. Someone's going to wake up. Sherriff Patterson is going to have a realization that will lead him to the wrong conclusion. Barnabas is going to fall into a trap of his own making, and Vicki's going to find out news she is not happy about._


End file.
